It’s good that guys like Tapley are embracing their newfound wickedness, because trying to convert the country to their side would be a colossally futile effort. The Aztecs’ opponent, after all, is 15th-seeded Florida Gulf Coast University, which hijacked the spotlight and put a trillion-dollar ransom on it Friday by stunning Georgetown.

For a ravenous Tournament viewer a 15-seed is a marinated porterhouse, while a seven seed is an unbuttered slice of toast. Nobody likes the chaperone trying to boot the belle from the Big Dance, and today, aside from area code 619, nobody’s going to like SDSU.

Aztecs such as Tapley and Jamaal Franklin claim that this is hardly novel — that they’ve been playing the villain all year long and welcome the opportunity. But given the national attention today’s game will command, this isn’t quite like venturing into The Pit in New Mexico. And come to think of it, FGCU isn’t quite like any other No. 15 we’ve seen before.

For one, the Eagles are as much Peter Pan as they are Cinderella. They flew over the second-seeded Hoyas for 40 minutes Friday, and punctuated the win via Chase Fieler’s emasculating one-handed alley-oop finish by way of Brett Comer. CBS broadcaster Kevin Harlan may have said it best when he quipped, “They are like a circus.”

Secondly, their coach may end up as the next frontman for Dos Equis. A $100 million company? The leading-cause-of-whiplash for a wife? At the very least, Andy Enfield is the Most Interesting Man in the Tournament.

Yet, here comes San Diego State trying to foil America’s new favorite team like an anvil-wielding coyote. But how do you play like that? How do you succeed when 49¾ states are rooting for your failure?

Well, Fisher takes issue with the question. He said that in addition to San Diego, he’s got all of Illinois — his birth state — behind the Aztecs. Typical villain. Can’t believe a word he says.

FGCU’s magic serum could affect even the most loyal of followers. Friday, you could have kept score of the Georgetown game by listening to fan-reaction alone. And whenever an Eagle sauntered up the stands during SDSU-Oklahoma, he was greeted by an ovation from everyone in the section.

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski knows what it’s like to have millions cheering against him. He was also made firmly aware of the FGCU hype Saturday when he fielded five questions about the Eagles and zero about Creighton — the Blue Devils’ next opponent.

Regardless, Coach K’s perspective was that it’s never about the crowd, only the 10 players on the court, and that sometimes having everyone in your corner puts pressure on a team.

Maybe. But if it starts feeling like an away game in the Wells Fargo Center today, it could spell trouble for the Aztecs. Whether it was New Mexico, Colorado State, UNLV, Boise State, Air Force or even Wyoming, SDSU didn’t pick up one significant road win in the Mountain West this year.

But that was then. These are the Tournament Aztecs now. This is a group that, like Franklin, has to enjoy the role of heel. This is a team that, today, has to feed off the crowd’s disappointment and let silence pump its adrenaline.

This is a squad that, despite the wishes of a nation, must serve as Cinderella’s midnight, keep a No. 15 out of the Sweet 16, and make sure that, next weekend, Enfield’s supermodel wife won’t be shown on TV every 30 seconds.